This week, Swarthmore is excited to welcome back esteemed baritone and composer Roderick Williams, OBE, along with internationally renowned pianist Julius Drake for a series of events supported by a grant from the William J. Cooper Foundation. The two will perform English language songs at a piano and a voice recital on Friday, February 7 at 8 PM. Williams will offer a vocal masterclass on Thursday, February 6 at 1 PM while Drake will lead a chamber music masterclass on Saturday, February 8 at 1 PM.

Roderick Williams’ name may be familiar to the Swarthmore community as he took the stage with the College Chorus and Orchestra last fall as the baritone soloist for Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs; Swarthmore’s Chorus also debuted Williams’ work Cats in Airpumps. “It was a big dream of mine [to bring Williams to Swarthmore],” says Andrew Hauze, Senior Lecturer and one of the organizers of the Cooper grant. “It’s amazing that we were able to bring [Williams] for two separate visits with different emphases, the first featured him as a composer and this time, he’s featured as a solo singer and will give a masterclass.” Hauze is a longtime fan of Williams, and emphasizes the clarity with which he sings: “[his singing] has such a beautiful sound, but linked with this incredible sense of naturalness . . . the music seems to flow out of him.”

Aside from performance and composition, Williams is a prolific educator and music advocate making regular appearances on BBC Radio 3 as a performer and presenter. He is well known for his diverse repertoire, having made recordings of works from Vaughn Williams to Britten to Schubert with a particular inclination for English song. “It was very fun to work with [Williams] last year,” says Lizzie Culp ‘26, “I’m excited to get feedback on my dramatic performance.” Culp will perform Mozart’s “Ach, ich fühls” from Die Zauberflöte as part of Williams’ masterclass. Olivia Scarozza ‘25 echoes Culp’s sentiments and is “excited to work with Mr. Williams on an English text” due to his mastery of the genre and notes how inspired she feels by Williams’s stage presence. Scarozza will sing If Music Be the Food of Love by Henry Purcell. Williams’ masterclass will take place on Thursday, February 6 at 1 PM in the Lang Concert Hall.

Williams will be joined on this visit by Julius Drake, one of the world’s premier collaborative pianists and a colleague of Williams. Drake’s series of recordings with baritone Gerald Finley for Hyperion Records includes “Songs by Samuel Barber,” “Schumann: Dichterliebe & other Heine Settings” and “Britten: Songs & Proverbs of William Blake.” These records have received widespread acclaim, winning the 2007, 2009, and 2011 Gramophone Awards, respectively. Hauze had the chance to see Drake and Finley perform live and was struck by the pianist's musicality: “His piano playing was filled with such color and drama . . . it was not the kind of accompaniment where he sits back and gently supports the singer, it was a full blown collaboration between two artists.” Drake is no stranger to musical education and advocacy, being a Professor of Collaborative Piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London and curating an annual series of song recitals at London’s Middle Temple Hall.

Grace Chen ‘28 (piano) will take part in Drake’s masterclass alongside Salome Jin ‘25 (clarinet) working on Brahms’ Sonata for Clarinet and Piano No. 1 Opus 120. “I’ve been listening to and enjoying some of Drake’s recordings,” Chen says. “I’m excited to learn from one of the best collaborative pianists, hear the other groups play, and keep improving the way Salome and I play.”

T Sallie ‘25 (cello) shares Chen’s thoughts, “I’m looking forward to hearing a pianist’s perspective since as a string player, I focus more on strings.” Sallie will perform the 1st movement of Saint-Saens Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor with their group “Trio etc.” featuring Emma Gabriel ‘25 (violin) and Chung Sze Kwok ‘27 (piano). Drake’s masterclass will happen on Saturday, February 8 at 1 PM in the Lang Concert Hall. Williams and Drake’s voice and piano recital takes place on Friday, February 7 at 8 PM. All events are free and open to the public.